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SAN ANTONIO
MEDICINE

We Are The Same

By Ivelisse Velázquez Negrón, MD

We were made from the same essence You let it all escape through your lips
Our eyes opened to the same light And like a hurricane full of words
Our souls were filled from the same hope You figured out how to be free
And our minds from the same strength And began your journey to heal

Our bodies carry the same trauma And instead of being me the one who helped you
That our ancestors printed in our blood It was you who helped me
Our hearts ache from the same scars And by being a mere spectator
That were carved at an early age I ended up being saved

Our innocence was robbed from us – We are the same
Because we never understood consent – I am here to learn
Society only taught us how to behave
And how to embrace guilt when we don’t
Ivelisse Velázquez Negrón, MD is a resi-
Guilt of not knowing best dent in the Department of Psychiatry at
Of wanting more than this the UT Health Long School of Medicine.
Of being our true selves She is a resident member of the Bexar County
Of wanting to be truly free Medical Society.

And now we carry the same cloud
Because silence is less painful
Note from the author: This is a poem I wrote on how patients are
Than admitting that we failed
not different from us. It is about how patients can help us and teach us
And lost our ‘most important’ virtue
with their life experience and their courage of how to ask for help.

Sometimes we think we should know, and we should be able to take
Now at night is hard to sleep
care of our problems without difficulty. However, patients are more than
And during the day is hard to trust
just patients. They are human beings as we are, who suffer as we do and
Because we are safe in our secret space
are able to help us grow in unimaginable ways. “We Are The Same” also
That we created away from all touches on topics that are important for all women like consent, guilt
and shame.
And we decided to call it stress
Or to call it a bellyache
Some days we justify it and take the blame To see more art and literature, scan the QR code
And then submerge in a lake of pain to discover more from Connective Tissue.

And though everyone thinks we are different
Because I wear a coat and you a hospital gown
It was only your courage that sets us apart
The day you decided it was enough

34 SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • November 2021